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A somber crowd of more than 200 grief-stricken students, faculty and members of the community gathered Thursday evening at the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb at a vigil to remember two of those killed during the mass shooting last Friday in Aurora. The event at the Holmes Student...

A day after Illinois State Police inquired about Gary Martin’s criminal history in 2014, two court clerks in Mississippi discussed whether to send authorities a chilling psychiatric evaluation in which the future mass killer described himself as “an abuser” and admitted to anger issues. “I have...

Brookfield Zoo medical staff yesterday had to put down a tiny African antelope born on Valentine's Day due to a severe birth defect that meant it would not have survived, the zoo announced on its Facebook page. Local media had photographed the animal, named Valentino, at the zoo’s invitation after...

Macy’s plan to build four freestanding storefronts on the outskirts of its parking lot at Hawthorn Mall recently was met with concerns from Vernon Hills trustees, who argued the proposal would overcrowd the area. Citing safety concerns and congestion that could turn off shoppers, trustees said...

A former Glenview teacher accused of sexually assaulting a minor and possessing child pornography was ordered held on a $150,000 bond Wednesday on new charges of child pornography. Matthew Joseph Laird, 33, of the 3900 block of Trimuvera Drive in Glenview, was charged in October with having and...

When Chicago Bears linebacker Sam Acho injured his pectoral muscle in week four of last year’s NFL season, he felt sacked for a loss emotionally. “I was definitely disappointed,” he told me. The Bears placed Acho on injured reserve, ending his season and also his rare opportunity to play in a playoff...

A federal judge Wednesday denied Sterigenics’ emergency motion to lift a ban on its use of ethylene oxide at its Willowbrook sterilization plant. Sterigenics wanted the court to block the Pritzker administration from using authority in state law that allows the Illinois EPA to force the closure...

Waukegan aldermen have thrown their support behind a call for independent, city-funded ethylene oxide emissions testing after nearly 20 Waukegan and Gurnee residents pushed for oversight of the industrial gas at Tuesday’s council meeting. The protesters urged city officials in Waukegan, as they...

The village of Hinsdale has hired the same firm Willowbrook and Burr Ridge used to collect air samples within village limits and test for the presence of ethylene oxide, a toxic chemical Sterigenics uses in its sterilization operations in Willowbrook. One of the sites where testing would occur...

The Illinois courts have closed the door to the creative math that allowed one western suburb’s retired police officers to use a one-time $850 bonus to boost their retirement take by as much as six figures. The state Supreme Court allowed to stand two lower courts’ rulings that found the practice...

A Chicago man riding an eastbound CTA Blue Line train through Oak Park told police he was attacked and robbed by two teenagers early Tuesday. According to Oak Park police, the man was sleeping on the train when a teenager attempted to steal his bag at about 1 a.m. while the train was in the 800...

Franklin Park officials continue to seek funding for the more than $30 million Franklin Avenue reconstruction project. Trustees voted Feb. 19 to pursue an agreement with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, proposing the Tollway provide a more than $2 million local matching share to obtain...

Led by Glencoe, several North Shore communities landed spots on Bloomberg’s Richest Places Annual Index released earlier this month. Glencoe placed 10th on the list, with an average household income of nearly $340,000. The village moved up five places from last year, growing in average household...

The Union Pacific railroad bridge that runs through downtown Evanston will remain an “eyesore” after aldermen on Monday declined to spend $350,000 to paint a bridge that does not belong to the city. The bridge belongs to the railroad company and spans the intersection of Green Bay Road, Emerson...

Five months after giving superintendent Bruce Law a 3 percent raise and new three-year contract, the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board announced Tuesday that Law was leaving for another job at the end of the school year. He will be replaced by Tammy Prentiss, who is District 86’s assistant...

Months of community organizing, pleading and haranguing paid off last week when Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration banned Sterigenics from using cancer-causing ethylene oxide gas at its sterilization plant in west suburban Willowbrook. About 40 miles away, residents of Lake County feel forgotten...

From Thousand Oaks, Calif., to Orlando, Fla., cities across the country traumatized by high-profile shootings in workplaces, schools and entertainment venues offered advice this week to Aurora, the latest city to join a grim brotherhood after Friday’s warehouse shooting. The insight came in from...

Aurora police said Tuesday they had no record of being notified by the state police that the Aurora warehouse shooter’s gun license had been revoked. Police said that doesn’t mean they were not notified in 2014, when Gary Martin’s firearm owner identification card was revoked, but they don’t have...

When the Naperville Park District executive director received a 3 percent raise this year, his annual salary climbed to $213,847, $14,000 more than that of the Naperville city manager. The raise was granted despite criticism from at least one Naperville Park Board member, who called Executive Director...

The swimming pool has served many purposes over the years for Lincoln-Way East senior Bryce Wyma. From a source of calmness to a spot for self-reflection to an arena for him to showcase his outstanding talent. When Wyma started swimming at age 8, it helped him become comfortable at school. “When...

Chesterton senior Danny Schmiegel and junior Jordan Killosky are prime examples of the team-first culture coach Kevin Kinel has instilled. “Danny was one of those guys that moved where we needed him — he’s doing it for the team,” Kinel said. “With Jordan, he’s always sort of just been there. “It...

Scores and highlights may be emailed to southtownsports@gmail.com. Note: Schedules are subject to change because of weather and other factors. FRIDAY’S EVENTS HIGH SCHOOLS BOYS BASKETBALL Argo at Oak Lawn, 7 p.m. Crete-Monee at Bloom, 6:30 p.m. Eisenhower at Shepard, 7 p.m. Kankakee at Rich Central,...

Most read stories this hour

A Cook County judge scolded Jussie Smollett as he set bond Thursday at $100,000 on charges that the “Empire” actor staged an attack on himself, falsely claiming that two men called him slurs while placing a noose around his neck and beating him last month in downtown Chicago. “The most vile and...

Days before Jussie Smollett told police he was the victim of a vicious racist and homophobic attack, the “Empire” star sent a cautious text to a friend, Cook County prosecutors say. “Might need your help on the low,” he messaged Abimbola “Abel” Osundairo, Smollett’s co-worker and alleged sometime...

“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett told Chicago police last month that two men attacked him near his apartment building in Streeterville, slipping a noose around his neck and yelling racial and homophobic slurs. More than three weeks later, authorities said they now believe Smollett was lying and charged...

Things were uncertain on the set of Fox's "Empire" show: Ratings were down, and the network hadn't announced if the musical drama would be picked up for a sixth season. A major character was going to die this year, but the network hadn't revealed who that would be. But one thing was certain. Jussie...

“The question that every single person asks is why?” said CNN anchor Don Lemon. “Why?” He was speaking, of course, of TV actor Jussie Smollett, who just days ago was the celebrated survivor of pro-Trump Republican bigotry. Chicago police have a different story. They call him a liar and have charged...

As TV actor Jussie Smollett told the tale, he was the victim of a politically motivated hate crime on a downtown Chicago street at 2 a.m. on a January morning. That’s the story the Chicago Police Department investigated for more than three weeks. But on Wednesday night, authorities disputed that...

It now appears that Jussie Smollett may have made up the story of his attack. If true, it is disgraceful and, in my opinion, inexcusable. But let’s be clear. Just because one person lied about a racist and homophobic incident does not let all bigots off the hook. This is not a reprieve for anyone...

Something important has been lost in the embarrassing saga of Jussie Smollett, the tuna fish sandwich-loving actor and anti-Trump activist, and those muscular Nigerian brothers. And I suppose it’s easy to lose what’s important with all the panic and intersectional hatred and liberal identity politics...

A winning bid of $350,100 secured a rare Michael Jordan basketball card Wednesday night on eBay after a flurry of bids raised the price by nearly $150,000 in the final two minutes. “We call it a ‘holy grail’ because it’s so scarce and so desired that you just frankly never see it,” said Brent Huigens,...

Peter Tork, a blues and folk musician who became a teeny-bopper sensation as a member of the Monkees, the wisecracking, made-for-TV pop group that imitated and briefly outsold the Beatles, died Feb. 21. He was 77. The death was announced by his official Facebook page, which did not say where or...

Here are five takeaways from Cubs spring training Thursday: 1. New year, same role for Albert Almora Jr. Shortly before Joe Maddon said Almora was “going to have a great year,” the Cubs manager intimated that Almora’s chances for more playing time might depend on the makeup of the roster — some...

Perhaps none of the 14 candidates vying to become Chicago’s next mayor knows the ins and outs of City Hall better than Gery Chico. His resume is long on jobs rooted at 121 N. LaSalle St.: research assistant at the Planning Department, attorney for the City Council Finance Committee, chief of staff...

A timeless debate about balancing taxes and services is playing out this week among community members in Orland Park. Some parents in Orland School District 135 are upset after the school board voted Feb. 11 to phase out some junior high honors programs and reduce staffing for elementary enrichment...

The levels of ethylene oxide detected by air monitors near Sterigenics in Willowbook in January were the highest readings since the federal government began testing, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA released new data Thursday suggesting that the concentrations of ethylene...

A top campaign adviser to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle apologized Thursday after invoking Nazis to criticize former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot in a Facebook post. Preckwinkle aide Scott Cisek posted a comment on Facebook after the Tribune published a story detailing Lightfoot’s...

Brookfield Zoo medical staff yesterday had to put down a tiny African antelope born on Valentine's Day due to a severe birth defect that meant it would not have survived, the zoo announced on its Facebook page. Local media had photographed the animal, named Valentino, at the zoo’s invitation after...

Illinois State Police rescinded more than 10,000 gun licenses last year — and more than 75 percent of the revocation recipients ignored it, according to newly released data. The state agency provided the staggering figures late Thursday, as part of a trove of law-enforcement documents involving...

Somewhere in the mid-1960s, Lee Radziwill (nee Bouvier), the younger sister of Jacqueline Kennedy and a socialite officially known as Princess Lee Radziwill following her 1959 marriage to Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwill, decided that she wanted to be an actress. Improbably, Radziwill, who died...

We interrupt the Blackhawks’ most thrilling playoff race in years to focus exclusively on the extraordinary feats of one player. Gee, who could that be? Patrick Kane has shared the limelight with the team during its remarkable resurgence over the last month, but for one day let us put aside the...

Flagships are faltering. Fortunately for them, there’s Flagship February. The monthlong initiative, launched in a burst of social media inspiration by Canadian beer writer Stephen Beaumont, is meant to highlight “the flagship beers that got us here,” according to the Flagship February website. ...

Dear Readers: I’ve stepped away from the Ask Amy column for two weeks to work on a new writing project. I hope you enjoy these edited “best of” columns in my absence. All of these questions and answers were first published 10 years ago. Today’s theme is: unhappy partners. Dear Amy: Several years...

The 2020 presidential campaign has begun in earnest, with a variety of candidates either entering the race or announcing exploratory committees that allow them to begin fundraising. The Iowa Caucuses are months away (Feb. 3, 2020) but candidates are already scrambling for momentum in a crowded...

Reality hit me this week like Khalil Mack’s one-handed shove. It was during Mel Kiper’s annual media teleconference previewing the NFL scouting combine, sometime between his thorough breakdown of Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson and his breathless take on why no Tennessee players were invited to Indianapolis....

A day after Illinois State Police inquired about Gary Martin’s criminal history in 2014, two court clerks in Mississippi discussed whether to send authorities a chilling psychiatric evaluation in which the future mass killer described himself as “an abuser” and admitted to anger issues. “I have...

Dear Readers: I’ve stepped away from the Ask Amy column for two weeks to work on a new writing project. I hope you enjoy these edited “best of” columns in my absence. The questions and answers were first published 10 years ago. Today’s topic is: wellness. Dear Amy: As a public health nurse and...